I have had wings.. virtually

Yesterday thanks to a friend who was an hour late from a meeting, I read the World Development Report to kill time. There were a lot of tables at the back of the report showing statistics from different countries. Curiosity driven, I started looking at the names of the countries in the world. And I realised there're so many countries which I have not heard of! I started googling on them, and discovered yet so many interesting spots in the world! Surprisingly, many of these countries are just among the countries which I am familiar with. Well, these are my target visit places in the future, more than those familiar ones around. :)

Isle of Man

An island in between Ireland island and England island. It boasts of relaxed pace of life, and is famous for motorsport events, world's largest water wheel, fields full of rare orchids and seas rich with wrecks.

Slogan: Many worlds, One island.

Tourism websites: www.isleofman.com or www.gov.im/tourism. 

Picture from http://www.isleofman.com/Tourism/IsleofContrasts.aspx 

Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Man 

Monaco

The second smallest country in Europe after Vatican City, tucked just below France. It has no navy or air force, but its police force on per capita basis is the highest in the world - 515 police for 32,000 people! Monaco is well known to be a tax haven, and 84% of its population are wealthy foreigners! Oh have I mentioned that you only take 56 minutes to walk from end to end of the country?

Official tourism site: www.visitmonaco.com

Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monaco

Picture from http://www.visitmonaco.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageID=1238

Andorra

A landlocked country in between Spain and France on the Pyrenees mountains. Tourism accounts for 80% of its GDP due to snow-capped mountains for skiing and it being a tax-free haven. The life expectancy here is the highest in the world at 83 years old! The country has 71,000 people in the 468 square km land.

Sadly, there isn't an official website for Andorra. I recommend the site by Lonely Planet.

Picture from http://www.lonelyplanet.com/andorra

Picture from http://www.yourandorra.com/map 

Antigua & Barbuda

A country spread across a few islands in Caribbean Sea in the big lagoon between North and South America. The two main islands are called Antigua and Barbuda, in which the former is the more main island. The main language is English, for the 68,000 inhabitants, of whom comprise of West African, British and Portugese.

Tourism slogan: The beach is just the beginning.

Official tourism website: www.antigua-barbuda.org. 

Picture courtesy of www.antigua-barbuda.org

Picture  from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LocationAntiguaAndBarbuda.png

Aruba

An island country in the heart of Southearn Caribbean, just above Venezuela. It has 90,000 inhabitants in the 193 square km island. Their official language is Dutch due to previous colonization by the Netherlands.

Tourism slogan: 90,000 friends you haven't met yet.

Official tourism website: www.aruba.com.

Picture from http://www.honeymooncruiseshopper.com/aruba.htm 

Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LocationAruba.png 

The Bahamas

An archipelago of 700 islands off the coast of Florida. The Bahamas has the clearest water in the world - with a visibility of 200 feet. It is a place where you can't tell where dream begins and reality ends, with rich European influence yet a population of mostly West Africans.

Official tourism website: www.bahamas.com

Picture from http://www.bahamas.com/sites/all/themes/bahamas/flash/gallery/multimedia-gallery.html

 

Picture from http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/americas/bahamas_pol86.jpg

Eritrea

Labelled by Lonely Planet as one of the most secretive countries in Africa, due to it being at odds with Ethiopia. Yet, it has a lot to offer - the least known and spoilt reefs in the Red Sea on its Red Sea coast, a wasteland that has desolate magnetism, and a capital that is like a film set from an early Italian movie, with vintage Italian coffee machines and outstanding Art-Deco architecture.

Picture from http://www.lonelyplanet.com/eritrea

Picture from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LocationEritrea.svg

This little tour around the unknown world just opens me up to more and more diversity in the world. They are so beautiful, and now I understand why SY said he lives so that one day he can travel. I want to see these places with my own eyes, feel them own senses, touch them with my own heart. One day I will.

Suddenly there is a thought that popped up. I am sure my country has a lot more beautiful places which I want to go too! Since I am financially constrained for the moment, why not I travel to see these places first? Good idea. Way to go!

Redang

Mount Kota Kinabalu

Lake Kenyir

Gua Niah, Sarawak

Tioman

Sepilok, Sabah

Endau Rompin, Johor